1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to network devices. More specifically, the present invention provides techniques and mechanisms for detecting and maintaining version compatibility for images associated with network devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Version compatibility issues associated with network devices are numerous. Networks can include hundreds of interconnected switches, routers, and gateways and each switch, router, and gateway can include a number of different line cards, supervisors, and other components. Each device or component may support different features, protocols and may originate from different vendors and suppliers. Furthermore, each device or component may include multiple software images that may originate from different vendors. Upgrades and patches of various devices and components occur rather frequently, and ensuring version compatibility upon upgrading or patching a particular device or component is administratively inefficient and error prone.
Running incompatible images in a network can lead to loss of data, data corruption, or other unpredictable behavior. Current techniques for maintaining or detecting version compatibility are limited. Consequently, it is desirable to provide improved techniques for detecting and maintaining version compatibility in network devices.